Cloud Licensing allows GitLab customers to activate paid subscription features on self-managed instances using an activation code, rather than managing license files and manually uploading them into their instance. By activating through Cloud Licensing, a customer’s GitLab instance will periodically synchronize Subscription Data with GitLab.
In order to further encourage Cloud Licensing, the Strict Cloud Licensing project will include several iterations to encourage customers to use Cloud License activation codes rather than a Legacy License file to activate their self-managed instances. The following GitLab internal licensing terms page provides a technical definition of the current three types of licenses (Cloud Licensing, Offline and Legacy) associated with Cloud Licensing.
Effective July 7, 2022: Cloud Licensing will be enabled by default for all new and renewal customers, as detailed in the Strict Cloud Licensing roll out plan (except OSS, EDU or Start-Up products). Customers will no longer have the ability to download a license file from the Customers Portal. In addition, Offline licenses will now be available to allow customers with air-gapped or offline instances to receive the benefits of Cloud Licensing. In order to receive a Legacy License or Offline License, customers will need to follow the below outlined process.
NOTE: This only applies to standard and resold customers.
Customers who cannot activate with Cloud Licensing will need to obtain either an Offline Cloud License or a Legacy License. If this process is handled correctly at time of sale, no Support involvement is required.
By default, the TurnOnCloudLicensing__c
flag in SFDC will be set to Yes
on every quote during the sales cycle. If the Sales Rep wants to opt the customer out, they should update the quote field [Cloud Lic] Add Cloud Licensing Opt Out
to either Legacy License File
or Offline License
. This in turn updates the value of TurnOnCloudLicensing
to No
or Offline
respectively. Once the quote is submitted, Sales VP approval is required via the standard SFDC approval process. Once approved, the quote is synced to Zuora, which in turn creates and activates the subscription. In this scenario, the customer will receive their activation email with their license file attached and will also have the ability to download the license file from the GitLab Customers portal.
The above defined sales-initiated exemption process is intended to be the only means of opt out and should be used for all customers. However, there may be occurrences where a sales rep missed opting a customer out during the sale, and the customer has now incorrectly received a Cloud License activation code they cannot use.
In a situation where a customer requires a Legacy License or a Offline License post-sale, the customer must first reach out to their sales account manager for them to open an Internal Request with Support. The customer's sales account manager will then need to obtain sales VP approval for a Cloud Licensing exemption in order for L&R support to be able to process the internal request and provide the customer with the required license file. If an emergency situation occurs where the customer requires access during the approval process, a support engineer should provide the customer with a trial license until approval is received. Once approved, the correct license type can be issued to the customer.
If approved, the support engineer will need to first update the Cloud Licensing
flag within CustomersDot's Admin.
Under "admin/customer/CUSTOMER_ID/zuora_subscriptions", the flag needs to be set to either "Offline" or "No", as shown in the screenshot below.
The matrix below defines the impact of setting the Cloud Licensing
flag value to Yes
, Offline
or No
on the eligibility of three license types.
Cloud Licensing Flag value | Cloud License | Offline Cloud | Legacy License |
---|---|---|---|
Yes | Eligible | Not Eligible | Eligible |
Offline | Eligible | Eligible | Not Eligible |
No | Eligible | Eligible | Eligible |
Once updated, the support engineer should then generate the license manually by impersonating the customer and selecting Download license file
from the "Manage Purchases" view. Using this method will ensure all license details are auto-populated correctly. Note that the download license option will only be visible after the Cloud Licensing
flag has been updated. After the license is generated, search for the license and resend the license because the automatically generated license does not trigger license email notification.
Once these steps are completed, please be sure to flag the ZenDesk ticket using the above macro to ensure these missed approvals are being tracked appropriately.
Knowing whether to provide an Offline or Legacy License will depend on the customer's specific scenario and what they request, but the following may be helpful:
Reseller customers should be directed to sales as well using the same process.
We can generate a legacy license in this situation, but only after an exemption has been approved. Do not apply the exemption to the currently CL-enabled subscription. Instead, generate a legacy license duplicate of the existing license.
Please see this comment thread for greater context on this workaround.
Check the Created By
value of either (1) the invoices for the specific purchase in the customer's Zuora account (https://www.zuora.com/apps/CustomerAccount.do?method=view&id=
svc_zuora_fulfillment_int@gitlab.com
or ruben_APIproduction@gitlab.com
).svc_ZuoraSFDC_integration@gitlab.com
) or a GitLab team member's email (mostly it would be a Billing team member)."New Business" web direct purchase opportunities in SFDC will often be created as ACCOUNT-NAME - Web Direct
. The Initial Source field will also be filled as "Web Direct".
Web direct purchases also create a Quote in the customer's SalesForce account. However, the Status of the Quote is almost always New
.
Sent to Z-Billing
.Cloud Licensing is required on a Closed-Won Opportunity because Support follows the Quote that has its Status
as Sent to Z-Billing
to confirm the license details that has been exempted.
Turn On Cloud Licensing
is set to Null
) or opted out of Cloud Licensing (i.e. Turn On Cloud Licensing
is set to No
or Offline
) wants to switch to Cloud Licensing, they will need to contact support. Support can generate and send the activation code in CustomerDot Admin as detailed in post sales exemption support.For more information on Cloud Licensing, please refer to the following resources:
Have a question that hasn't been answered in the documentation? Add it to our Cloud Licensing AMA doc (internal only)!